Bittersweet Reunion
by QueenCate
Summary: [AU] When Lilly and Veronica attend Shelley Pomroy's party of the year, they get more than they bargained for. DuVe, LoganLilly
1. Broken Angel

"C'mon, Veronica! It'll be fun!" Lilly tugged on Veronica's hand as she pleaded with her. "Shelley always has the best parties!"

"Will Duncan be there?" Veronica asked, knowing the answer before the question even formed on her lips.

Lilly nodded, knowing where this was going. "But so what! Just cause the Donut was stupid enough to let you go doesn't mean you have to start train for a future as a crazy cat lady. This is your chance to show him that you can just as fabulous without him. I mean, you're a total hottie, Veronica Mars, or at least you could be if you loosened up a bit. Let's go to the party, go wild, and show Duncan and Logan what they're missing!"

Veronica shook her head, but her resolve was weakening and Lilly knew it. And she decided to exploit that.

"I'm betting that when Duncan sees you in the spectacular dress I'm gonna pick out for you, he'll be leaping over people to get back with you," Lilly promised.

"All right," Veronica conceded, allowing Lilly to drag her over to the huge walk-in closet on the other side of the room. Lilly immediately set about finding the perfect dress.

"Nope…nope…oh, definitely not." She flung one outfit after another aside. When Veronica asked what was wrong with them, she explained, "It's gotta scream 'Veronica!' And I don't mean the Veronica you act like, I mean the real Veronica, the one you hide under all that sugar and spice and everything nice."

Veronica just shook her head, imagining the type of dress Lilly would pick out. With a sigh, she sank back onto Lilly's bed and closed her eyes, setting her mind free to wander. Duncan's face swam before her, smiling in that confused way he did when Lilly launched into an explanation of one of her schemes. A soft smiled tugged at the corners of her mouth until a sharp voice pulled the warmth of her memories.

"Veronica Mars!" Lilly yelled. "Stop thinking about Donut and try this on."

Veronica reluctantly forced her eyes opened and propped herself up on her elbows to get a look at Lilly's choice. When she saw it, she gasped. "Lilly! I can't wear that!"

"Oh yes, you most certainly can and will." Lilly grabbed her hand, pulled her upright, and marched her into the bathroom. "Come out when you're fabulous."

Veronica rolled her eyes, but complied, figuring that once Lilly saw how ridiculous she looked in the dress, she would change her mind and allow her to pick her own dress. She tugged at the tight fabric several times before it was in place. Glancing in the mirror on her way out to show Lilly, Veronica breath caught in her throat. She didn't look like herself. Or maybe she did. The real her that Lilly was always talking about. The red stain brought out her faint tan and the spaghetti straps coincided perfectly with the tan lines from her bathing suit.

Lilly barged through the door yelling that Veronica was taking way too long and grinned when she saw her friend. "Now that's more like it! Duncan will be eating out of your hand within the first five minutes, and it'll take that long only because he'll need to snap his jaw shut and wipe off the drool first. Now, time for makeup and hair."

-x-

Lilly and Veronica walked into the party arm in arm, with Lilly slightly in the lead as she was dragging Veronica behind her. "C'mon, don't lose your nerve now, V! You look totally amazing."

Veronica stopped short for a second and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

The two continued the walk up the driveway and through the front door. The general reaction was a massive double take. People would look over and, seeing the best friends together, think nothing of it. Until they realized what Veronica was wearing. Then their heads would whip back around and, if it was a guy, his jaw would drop open, and if it was a girl, she would glower at Veronica. Dick Casablancas broke away from his girlfriend, Madison Sinclair, and let out a loud wolf whistle.

Lilly noticed this, of course, and her face broke into a satisfied smile that slowly changed to mischievous. "Let's go find Duncan."

Veronica forced herself to nod before once again being dragged along by Lilly. They weaved through the crowd. Veronica tried to ask where they were going, but Lilly couldn't hear her over the music pulsing through the house. Finally, they emerged from the crowd. Veronica looked around and realized they were out back. She surveyed the scene, hoping to find Duncan. Suddenly Lilly was in front of her, obscuring her vision. "Come on, let's go back inside."

"No, Lilly," Veronica struggled, trying to pull her arm from Lilly's grasp. "Where is he?"

Resignedly, Lilly pointed across the pool and there he was, half hidden by shadows. Veronica wondered what he doing over by himself. He moved and she realized he wasn't alone. He was in the middle of what appeared to be a heavy make-out session with some random blonde. Distraught, Veronica whirled around and plunged back into the dancing crowd, ignoring Lilly's attempts to slow her down. Somewhere along the way, a hand- Dick's – appeared in front of her, clutching a drink. "It'll make you feel better," he promised.

She hesitated only a minute before grabbing it and, as she remembered the image of Duncan and Blonde Bimbo Number 1, downed it. One rum and coke wouldn't hurt, right?

A short while later, Veronica was sitting on a once spotless couch, feeling kind of out of it. A group of guys standing nearby started nudging each other and pointing at her. She squinted at them to try and make out their faces through her blurred vision but it was to no avail. Next she tried to ask if any of them had seen Lilly but her throat was sry and nothing came out. The guys approached her and she saw that Dick Casablancas was one of them. She wasn't exactly fond of him, but it was possible he knew where Lilly was. "Dick," she forced out. "Don't…feel good…Lilly?"

"Shh," he told her and she thought she heard a bit of a laugh in his voice. "Here, drink this, Veronica. It'll make you feel better." The words sounded vaguely familiar, but Veronica was desperate to feel better so she opened her mouth and allowed the liquid to be poured in. Her head grew fuzzier and she found it hard to fight back when Dick tipped the contents of another, larger cup into her mouth. Just when she thought she couldn't stand it any longer, a set of strong arms lifted her from the couch. Whoever it was carried her into a room that she recognized dimly as a bedroom and set her down on the bed. She heard his footsteps recede. She was alone.

-x-

Lilly stormed up to her brother. "Duncan! We need to talk. _Now_."

Duncan knew better than to argue with Lilly when she was used that tone of voice. He allowed himself to be dragged away from the blonde girl – Cindy? Or was it Cinda? – and followed Lilly into a secluded corner of the patio. "What, Lil? I was kinda busy over there." He gave a nervous laugh. Hard as he tried, he couldn't disconnect himself from Veronica and had hoped hooking up with random girls would help, but so far it was to no avail. Every time he closed his eyes, her smiling face swam before him, her laugh sounded in his ears constantly, sending shivers down his spine.

"Yeah, I noticed," Lilly spat out. "And so did Veronica."

Duncan ran his hands through his hair uneasily. "Look, Veronica's a big girl. She can handle it. I told you why it has to be this way."

Lilly shook her head, a knowing smile playing across her full lips. Duncan knew that smile. She wore it constantly. It meant she had a secret.

"What do you know," he demanded. "Lilly…?"

The smile grew wider. "I took the liberty of sending a little something from Dad's hairbrush and little something from Veronica's to a lab. They did a paternity test."

Duncan's eyes widened and he grabbed his sister's arm. "And…?"

"Donut, chill," Lilly said in reply, prying his fingers off her arm. "Geez, you gotta learn some patience."

"Lilly, don't mess with me," Duncan warned impatiently.

"All right, fine. She not our sister so you can, in good conscience, get back with her."

Duncan stood there, eyes still wide, in elated shock.

Lilly prodded him. "What are you doing staring at me like that? Go find her! Before someone else scoops her up because I must say, I did a killer job on her tonight. I'll take care of the bimbo over there," she added, nodding towards the slightly disgruntled looking blonde Duncan had just abandoned.

Needing no further promptings, Duncan ran off to find Veronica, unable to keep a silly-looking grin off his face.

-x-

The slightly dulled sound of a person banging into a door penetrated Veronica's foggy mind. "Who's…there?"

A body fell next to her, sinking the bed down an inch or two. "V'ronica? Heyyy! It's V'ronica Mars!" A heavy arm flopped on top of her.

Veronica struggled to push it off and stumbled to her feet. She looked down at the guy. "Dick?" she asked, confusedly. Shaking her head gently clear it, she stumbled out the door. She heard her name being called from down the hall. Veronica attempted to turn around, but her brain and legs didn't seem be talking at the moment and she toppled over, right into a pair of strong, familiar arms. The guy swept her into his arms and she got a good look at his face. "Duncan?"

"Veronica?" he said in disbelief. "Are you _drunk_?"

Veronica shook her head emphatically, cringing as a pounding pain surged through it. "Somebody drugged my drink, I think," she managed to get out. "Then Dick gave me some medicine that didn't work very good and my head got all woozy." She felt Duncan's arms tense underneath her and she reached up to stroke his face. "I knew you'd come, I knew you'd save me…Can I go home?"

"Yeah, Veronica, let's go home." Duncan carried her out the open door and into the backyard, hoping that Lilly was still there because he needed someone to help Veronica while he killed some – or possibly several – people. He saw a flash of long blonde hair and sighed with relief. "Lil…Lilly!" His sister whirled around with a smile on her face, obviously expecting to see he and Veronica, reunited. What she got instead was Duncan laying an out of it Veronica on a lounge chair. Shock and – was that fear? – dawned upon her face and she hurried forward.

"Veronica?" she half screamed, not believing the sight before her. And she was in good company. Everyone on the patio was staring at the three now, all wearing disbelieving look similar to Lilly's. Lilly crouched down next to Veronica and glanced at her brother. "We have to get her back to our house. Right now. I'll call her dad and tell him something and she can spend the night. She cannot go home like this."

"You take her, I have to find out who did this to her." Duncan made to leave, but Lilly latched onto his arm and pulled him back down.

"No," she said forcefully. "I need you. Jake and Celeste can't find out about this, either. Jake would tell Celeste, and you know she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to tell her parents, bitch that she is."

Duncan set his jaw angrily, but knew Lilly was right. But come Monday, whoever did this was dead. Lilly beckoned him to follow, so he scooped up the now unconscious Veronica and followed her through the party and out to her car. He could come back for his tomorrow. No way was he leaving Veronica.

The ride home was silent, an unusual occurrence when Lilly was involved, but Duncan welcomed it. Veronica head rested on his lap, calm and peaceful, reminding him, as usual, of an angel. He cracked his knuckles ominously, trying to seem tough. He couldn't wait to get his hands on those jerks that did this.


	2. Lies and Hangovers

A steady pounding slowly woke Veronica from her coma-like sleep, growing more painful with each passing second. She tried to groan, but her mouth was parched. She opened her sleep blurred eyes and tried to grope for the cup of water she usually kept by her bed.

"Here," a voice said as a cup appeared in front of her. "Open up."

Veronica readily obeyed, parting her lips and drinking greedily from the cup. When the contents had been drained, she fell back onto the bed and let out a groan. She reached up and rubbed her eyes, smiling when they cleared and she saw who had supplied the elixir of life, also known as water.

"Hey, you," she whispered.

Duncan smiled back. "Hey. How're you feeling?"

"Like a couple of trucks were playing chicken on my head. How exactly did I get here?" Veronica asked, looking around at Lilly's room. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the evil light.

"Uh…what's the last thing you remember?" Duncan asked.

Veronica thought for a second and then let out another groan. "I got really wasted, didn't I? And then Dick gave me a drink…Oh my God!" She sat bolt upright. "He drugged me, didn't he?"

"I don't know. Someone did and Dick's a good choice for the culprit. I wouldn't be surprised if he did." Duncan shook his head disgustedly. "But what I wanna know is who brought you into that guest bedroom."

"Probably Dick, right?" Veronica asked, leaning back against the mountain of pillows on Lilly's bed.

"I don't think so," Duncan answered with a shake of his head. "He was too out of it to be able to carry you into the bedroom. Besides, I saw him walk down the hallway a few minutes before I did and he wasn't carrying you."

"Okay," Veronica said slowly. "Then I have no idea. Maybe we should ask around on Monday?"

Duncan nodded and sighed. "I'm really sorry this had to happen to you, Veronica. I should have been there for you."

"You are here for me," Veronica told him with a smile as she took his hand in hers.

Duncan smiled back. "And I'm never gonna leave you again…Was that too corny?"

"Just a little." Veronica grinned and added, "But I like corny."

For a few wonderful moments, the two sat in silence. Veronica hated to break it, but there was a question she needed to ask. "Duncan?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you break up with me?"

Duncan looked pained. "Do we have to do this now, Veronica?"

"Yes, we do." Veronica stared him straight in the eye, refusing to back down. She had to know.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. So he came up with a story that was sort of true. With a sigh, Duncan finally told her, "I got scared. Things were getting serious and I panicked." He looked away in embarrassment and added, "I've never been with a girl before." It was true that he was a virgin and it was also true that he had been getting scared. That wasn't why he broke up with her, but it wasn't a lie either.

Veronica grinned. "You should have just come to me. I've never been with anyone either, you know. What am I saying? You live with Lilly, of course you know. I'm scared, too. But if we both know where the other stands, then everything's okay. We're okay, right?"

"Yeah, we're okay. And you're right, as usual."

"It's a gift," Veronica said happily.

"Knock, knock," Lilly sang out as she pushed open the door to the bedroom. "Anyone for a Lilly specialty?"

"Which is?" Veronica asked.

"My patented hangover cure, of course." Lilly handed a glass to Veronica.

Veronica eyed it dubiously. "What's in it?"

Lilly winked and smiled her 'I've-got-a-secret' smile. And sure enough, she said, "It's a secret."

"It's probably just more alcohol," Duncan suggested with a roll of his eyes.

Lilly smacked her brother lightly on the head. She made a buzzer noise and said, "Wrong. Not a bad idea, though. You're catching on, bro. What are you waiting for? Drink up, V!"

With a shrug, Veronica downed the glass. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Bleh. That's disgusting, Lilly."

"Disgusting but effective. And it's made from everyday items so Celeste never knows the difference. Or at least she wouldn't if she ever actually cooked."

"Impressive," Veronica commented, handing Lilly back the glass.

Why, thank you, m'dear. Now get up," she ordered. "Some of your clothes are in the top drawer on my dresser. Donut, you come with me."

"Aye, aye, chief!" Duncan answered, springing to his feet and saluting his sister.

Lilly shook her head at him. "You really are a moron."

Duncan just smiled and followed her from the room. He and Veronica were back together and not even Lilly could bring him down. But the question she asked as soon as the door shut behind them could.

"Does she remember who did it?"

Duncan felt the grin slide off his face. "No. She remembers Dick handing her drink and that's about it. I don't think he brought her into the bedroom, though. He was too drunk and he didn't even go in there until a minute or two before I did."

Lily sighed in frustration. "This sucks, Duncan. Why her? She's a good girl. The best. It's not fair, even in Neptune, that this happened to her. I mean, what if you hadn't gotten there in time? Or if she had died? She's not used to drinking and I get a feeling she wouldn't hold her liquor well."

"I know," Duncan agreed softly, his eyes downcast. "We'll find him. We'll find the guy who did this."

"And we'll make him pay," Lilly finished, voicing Duncan's thoughts. It was scary how like her became when he was angry. Scary for the guy who drugged Veronica, that is.

-x-

Later that day, after Veronica had been deemed fit to return home, Lilly ordered Duncan to call Logan and find out what he saw. He was the obvious choice for the first phone call, as he was friends with both Duncan and Veronica and he loved Lilly (despite their current 'off' status) and he was also friends with Dick.

"Hey, man, it's Duncan."

"Hey, man, what's up?" Logan's voice filled the room. Lilly had made Duncan put him on speaker.

Lilly rolled her eyes, wondering if guys knew any other way of greeting each other than 'hey, man.' She opened her mouth to comment on it, but Duncan clamped his hand over it and shook his head and Lilly knew why. If Logan heard her voice, they would never get anything out of him. More likely than not, the conversation would end in an argument between them. So Lilly just rolled her eyes and flopped back on the bed.

"Listen, man," he shot Lilly a look and she rolled her eyes again, "I need to ask you something about last night."

"No, Duncan, I didn't cheat on you," Logan said in a simpering voice and Duncan could almost hear his smirk.

"Ha-ha. Seriously, though, did you see Veronica there?"

Logan was uncharacteristically silent. After a pregnant pause, he said, "Yeah, man. She was pretty drunk."

"Did you see who gave her the drinks?" Duncan pressed, trying not to seem too desperate.

Logan didn't say anything.

"Logan. Just tell me."

Logan sighed heavily. "I don't know who gave her the first few because when I saw her she was already pretty smashed. But when I did see her, she was with Dick and a few others and they were giving her drinks."

Trying his best to sound casual, Duncan asked, "Did you see her leave or anything?"

"No," Logan answered. "Listen, I gotta go, D. Stop torturing yourself over her. She's just one girl. There's a million hot gold-diggers waiting to take her place. See ya around."

The line went dead.

Duncan rested his head in his hands. "This is going nowhere fast."

Lilly, on the other hand, was staring at the phone with an unusually pensive expression. "He's knows more," she finally said.

"Huh?" Duncan looked up stupidly.

"I said," Lilly repeated, annoyed, "he knows more than he told you."

"How can you tell?"

Lilly stared at her brother. "How can you not? He's been your best friend for years. And he definitely inherited his dad's sucky acting ability. I think that medicine's starting to make your brain go cuckoo, Donut."

Duncan shot Lilly a dark look.

"I'm just saying," she defended herself, holding up her hands. "We've gotta figure out how to find out what Logan knows."

"Do you think he did it?" Duncan watched his sister, half waiting and half dreading her response.

After a long pause, she sighed. "I don't know. Maybe."


End file.
